


Like This

by thomasjeffersonsmacaroni



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Movie Star, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-29
Updated: 2016-10-29
Packaged: 2018-08-27 12:56:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8402539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thomasjeffersonsmacaroni/pseuds/thomasjeffersonsmacaroni
Summary: A story about fame.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This trash can of a fic that I'm writing while procrastinating finishing my two WIPs is the product of listening to "I Took a Pill in Ibiza" by Mike Posner (that's where the title came from btw) on the dark bus ride to school in the morning and of there not being enough Leggy in this world. Hope you enjoy!

_Angelica's pink flowy one, Eliza's poofy one with the sparkles, that really comfy purple one that Eliza is borrowing from Theo..._

Peggy stared at the closet that she was sharing with her sisters for the week, deciding which dress would be the best for her to wear tonight. Usually, she would wear the most complicated ones, the ones that took half an hour and that Angelica always dismissed as impractical. Today, however, she just wanted something that she could be comfortable in.

Eventually, she chose a plain red one from the far right of the closet. James always liked it when she wore red.

"Peg, you almost done in there?" Eliza called from the outside. "Sally needs to do our makeup, and you know she always spends forever on Angie's."

"Yeah, I'm putting my dress on right now," Peggy lied. In reality, she had only just now started to take off her hoodie and sweatpants, which she had been wearing for...how long now? Hours?  _Days_ , even?

It only took five minutes for her to get changed, a sharp contrast to the times when she would spend hours staring at the rows of dresses in front of her. A minute to brush her hair, another two to stand in front of the mirror and breathe, and she was leaving her bedroom, purse in hand, and greeting her two excited older sisters.

"I don't understand why I even have to go to this," she complained as Eliza took her by the hand and began to walk forward.

"Oh, Peggy,  _everyone_ loves you!" Angelica said from ahead. "And Alex is going to be there, and you know he hasn't seen you in  _months._ Not since you and James started dating."

"Peggy, you always used to love these kinds of things," Eliza said, look of concern framing her dark eyes as she stopped and took Peggy's hand with both of hers. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired, I guess." Peggy forced a smile onto her face as Angelica led the two to their makeup room, where Sally was already waiting, foundation in hand.

"Angelica, would you like to go first?" she asked the oldest of the three.

"Not today, Sally. Peggy can go first, she never goes first." Eliza let go of Peggy's hand and gently pushed her forward.

Another hour and a half for their makeup - fifteen minutes each for Eliza and Peggy and an hour for Angelica - and they were downstairs, where the ballroom that they had rented was already filling up with people. Eliza and Angelica left to find Alexander, Eliza's husband, and Peggy distanced herself to find her own boyfriend, James Reynolds.

He had been dating a young Maria Lewis, a skilled actress and singer who had worked on a movie with him. In the most cliche way possible, they were both in lead roles and fell in love along the way. It was like a fairy tale, Peggy remembered telling Angie and Eli as she read the news and looked at the handsome James kissing the beautiful Maria on the cheek.

But things turned from a dream into a nightmare, and being related to two actresses, Peggy got to see everything up close. Maria had cheated on him, he said. He had abused her, she said. She was a whore, he said. He was an asshole, she said. Everything was a matter of he said, she said, but Peggy didn't care about any of that when she had met James at a Red Carpet party and quickly fallen in love.

And now he was her boyfriend, and she knew that she should be lucky. There were many, many teenage fangirls who would kill to even come close to where she was with him.

"Hello, darling," James said. He was grabbing a plate of food at the snack bar when she approached him, trying hard, so hard, to keep her hands still.

"Hello."

James set his food down and wrapped his arms around her neck, leaning in as if for a kiss but instead whispering in her ear.

"You're going to be a good girl tonight, aren't you? Not like last time?"

Peggy shuddered in his arms. "Yes, of course. Of course." 

"Good girl." James removed his head from her shoulder and leaned in for a kiss, hand reaching down her back and lower in the process. Before they could take it any farther, James's phone buzzed in his back pocket, and he let go of Peggy to answer it. After talking for a minute (about what, Peggy didn't know), he hung up.

"I have to leave," he said. "I'll be back at the end of the evening. See you then." Without touching her again, he left through the front door, leaving Peggy staring at the plate of food where he had left it and wonder how, how, how her life came to be this way.

The Red Carpet event had been the stuff of fairy tales, Peggy recalled. She had been wearing yellow, her favorite color, Angelica and Eliza by her side, when she saw the handsome James Reynolds in a suit across the room and practically begged Angelica, who had worked with him on a movie in the past, to introduce them. It grew from there only quickly, from curtsying to kissing behind the building to full-on, publicly dating. People called them a good couple, they went to events together, and everything was perfect. He was the King of the Studio, as some people called him, and she was his queen.

If the early stages of their relationship were a fairy tale, then the later stages were a horror movie. Peggy had begun to mess up, to forget to do things that he had asked her to, to outright refuse to have sex or kiss or go to events. And he had turned from the king to the dragon, and she was the princess in the tower who could only watch helplessly as he came too close to comfort to murdering her.

She had tried to leave. She had told him that she was breaking up with him, had tried to leave his apartment and tell him that their relationship was over. But he always found her, using the excuse that their sudden breakup would reflect badly on both of them and even that Angelica and Eliza would be affected.

And so Peggy Schuyler pretended that she loved him, and that their relationship was like a pretty picture, and that was what everyone saw. And no one else saw the knife being held to her back behind the painting.

Peggy shook her head. Now was not the time to dwell on those thoughts. Now was the time to pretend that everything was all right.

She drifted through the room like a lost soul, occasionally filling both of her hands with food so that she had an excuse to not dance with single men. Eventually, she opted to stand near the wall, wringing her hands together, letting the chatter and the noise and the music be nothing but a background noise.

Suddenly, everything slowed down to a stop, replaced only by a constant chant and... _clapping?_

"LAFAYETTE! LAFAYETTE! LAFAYETTE!"

Hesitantly, Peggy let her hands fall beside her and stepped forward to see what was going on. The music had stopped by now, and everyone was in a circle around something that she couldn't see, being short and in the back. She gingerly pushed her way forward so that she was in the front, where a guy in a blue suit was standing on the table and rapping while dancing. She was an avid rap fan because of Alex, but she had never heard the tune; it seemed as if he was improv-ing.

"LAFAYETTE! LAFAYETTE! LAFAYETTE!"

Peggy continued to watch the man - Lafayette, judging by the chants. Tall and muscular, with dark skin and eyes and curly, bushy hair tied into a ponytail, his figure was hugged by the blue suit and what looked like a gold tie, all of which were loose and rumpled as he danced. He was a fast rapper, faster than any that Peggy had ever heard, and the lyrics were understandable, though they were spoken with a slight French accent.

"LAFAYETTE! LAFAYETTE! LAFAYETTE!"

Peggy saw Lafayette jump down from the table, still rapping, and look around at the crowd. He finally stopped when he moved in her direction, took her hand, and led her to the table-top. She was tempted to pull away, run back into the crowd, and thoughts of James and how disappointed he would be if she danced with a male stranger made that temptation stronger.

"Dance with me?" he asked, voice accented and raspy.

James wasn't here, though, wouldn't be here for another couple of hours. And Lafayette was still holding her by the hand, and it was warm, and she was  _such_ a good dancer, even though she didn't really dance that much anymore.

"Yes."

Lafayette pulled her onto the table, and although Peggy was worried about it breaking under their combined weight, it was sturdy, even as he twirled her around, singing now instead of rapping. At first, she merely went along with his motions, but as she discovered his dancing style, it became easier to make up her own moves, and the two complemented each other easily. The song ended with her in his arms, and the applause that greeted both of them was thunderous.

"What's your name?" he whispered into her ear, bending down a little so that he could reach her height.

"Peggy," she whispered back.

"THIS IS MY DANCE PARTNER, PEGGY!" Lafayette yelled, picking her up and lifting her into the air.

"PE-GGY! PE-GGY! PE-GGY!"

"AND LAFAYETTE!"

"LAFAYETTE! LAFAYETTE!"

The applause faded away as the two descended, Lafayette still holding Peggy's hand as he led her into the crowd.

"You looked lonely," he said by way of explanation. "I always strive to help lonely girls."

Peggy laughed, all previous tension faded away. "Is your name really Lafayette?"

"No. My name is Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de Lafayette. But everyone calls me Lafayette, or Laf."

"Okay, Laf."

Laf led her into the crowd, and she could see that they had arrived to the other end of the room, where Angelica and Eliza were chatting to Alexander.

"Peggy!" Eliza exclaimed. "You were amazing!"

"Peggy is a great dancer," Angelica said to the group.

"And I see you've met my friend Laf." Alex walked over to them, clapped Laf on the back, and kissed Peggy's hand.

"Where's James?" Angelica asked, walking over to smooth out Peggy's hair.

"Oh, he got a phone call and he left and said that he wouldn't be back for another couple of hours."

"Who's James?" Laf looked confused.

"Her boyfriend." This was Eliza, adjusting Laf's suit and tie so that he looked presentable.

"James Reynolds," Alex added. "I think Angie worked with him once."

"Oh, the one who was dating Maria Lewis?"

"Was," said Peggy. "They broke up. Now he's dating me."

"Ah, sorry. I do not follow American celebrity news."

"I thought _you_ would be a celebrity," said Peggy, looking up at him. "Maybe an actor or a singer."

"No, I am just Alex's friend who was, how you say, 'roped' into the spotlight."

"So am I. But with Angie and Eli." Peggy gestured with one of her hands at her two sisters, who were already drifting off, Alex by their side, and talking to other people.

"Oh, I would say that you've become famous in your own right. The news always talks about you when you're with Angelica and Eliza."

 _If he knew who I was, why wouldn't he know that I was dating James?_ Peggy was confused, but she said nothing out of politeness.

"Can you sing at all?" Laf asked her. They had moved to the side of the room, where there were few people.

"No. Eli and Angie are good, though, and Angie can rap. It used to be that she would rap, Eliza would sing, and I would dance to the song that they made."

"That's a good arrangement. John, Alex, Hercules, and I just rap together. We sing sometimes, too, but we mostly rap."

"I listen to rap 'cause of Alex. Who are some of your favorites?"

The conversation continued for the rest of the night, eventually moving outside of the room, both of them realizing over the course of the night more and more things that they had in common. When it finally came time for them to leave, Angelica announced that they would be meeting at Alex's apartment (usually, he shared it with Eliza, but Eliza was rooming with her two sisters because of Angelica's movie), and that James Reynolds would be there as well. Half an hour later, all of them were in a circle in the living room, sharing stories and laughter and chatter.

"Oh, James, you should have seen Peggy and Laf dance. They were on the table, and Laf was singing, and they were  _amazing_ together!" Alex gestured with his wine glass as he smiled, everyone else nodding in agreement.

Peggy laughed hesitantly, but on the inside, she was freezing.  _James won't like this. Not at all._ True to her belief, when the dinner was over, he pulled her into Alex's bedroom.

"I don't want you hanging out with him alone," James snapped, towering over her, again the dragon to her helpless princess. "Ever. I don't like him."

She wanted so badly to scream, to take a sword and chop off his head, to be the brave prince instead of the princess in the tower. But all she did was stay silent and nod, stay silent as the tears streamed down her face, as he shoved her into a wall and hit her and continued to yell, saying insults that she would never repeat, screaming even louder when he saw her wailing, pleading for him to stop as he tore her dress from behind. It would have gotten worse, she thought, had he not heard Angelica call for her, saying that they needed to leave.

"Be good for me next time," James growled, pushing Peggy onto the ground and kicking her towards the door. She picked herself up, cleaned herself up briefly, and left, leaving the event to happen behind closed doors where it belonged.

 

"Hello, Peggy. Angelica. Eliza."

Laf opened the door to the apartment that he and Alex were sharing to allow the Schuyler sisters to come inside. They were all dressed casually today, Peggy in a simple blouse and skirt and the others in T-shirts and jeans.

"I made cookies!" Alex called from the kitchen.

" _I_ made the cookies, yesterday," said Eliza. "Alex, darling, don't lie to your sisters-in-law."

"I helped," Alex said indignantly, bringing in the cookies on a plate.

"Ooh, chocolate chip. Yummy." Peggy took one and began to eat it as she sat down at the table.

It had been three weeks since the dance where she had met Laf, and in those three weeks, she had texted him practically non-stop. They talked about every topic under the sun, and they had yet to find any part of their personalities that didn't click with each other easily. But Peggy kept silent about the truth behind James, just as she had kept silent about it with Alex and even her sisters.

The other four sat down at the table, Laf putting down five glasses of lemonade for them to drink. They talked excitedly about their lives and loves (Maria Lewis was apparently one of the extras in Angelica's newest movie, and they were working very closely, and Angelica was trying to figure out if she was straight or not), and it was peaceful and relaxing to let the topic drift away from James for a while.

"Hey, how has James been?" Alex asked.

_Never mind._

"James is fine." Last night, she had forgotten to wash the dishes because she was Skype calling her parents.

"He's really sweet and treats me well." He had pushed her against the wall, kicked her, slammed his fists into her face and her body and everywhere.

"We're a good couple. I hope I marry him someday."  _"You're a fucking whore, just like Maria was! God, how the fuck do I even tolerate you, you fucking bitch?"_

"I love him." It had been worse than it ever had before. Tears came to her eyes just from thinking about it, but she blinked them away. They could never know. No one could ever know.

Eliza, sitting next to her, was the first to notice that she was breaking. "Peggy, are you all right?"

"Yeah." Peggy kept blinking, more rapidly than she usually did, forcing closed the door that she had accidentally opened. It seemed as if she was going to be successful, but then Eliza took her hand, and Angelica wrapped her arms around her, and the tears came without stopping, uncontrollable in her older sister's chest.

After a couple of minutes, during which Peggy's sobs slowed down to a stop, Alex and Laf awkwardly sitting there and not knowing what to do, Angelica released her hug and took Peggy's right hand, and both sisters looked at the one in the middle.

"Tell us everything," Angelica said. Peggy took a deep, long breath before starting.

"James...he hits me sometimes. Kicks me. Pushes me against a wall. Calls me bad names."

Angelica clenched her hand tighter. "What sorts of names?"

"Like...a whore. A bitch. Tells me that I should die." The tears came again then, and both of the sisters let go of Peggy's hands and wrapped their arms around her.

"Jesus, Peggy," said Alex. "Why haven't you broken up with him yet?"

"I  _can't!_ " Peggy practically screamed into Angelica's chest.

"Why not?" Eliza looked down, perplexed.

"James...James says...that my reputation will be ruined. And so will yours. He says that no one believed Maria, and no one will believe me."

"Not true." Laf spoke up for the first time, moving his chair so that he could be closer to the youngest Schuyler sister. "I am sure that if you record something, and release it online, then people will definitely believe you."

"He also said that he would hurt you. All of you." This triggered another wave of tears as Peggy imagined her friends and family dead at James's feet because of her. She would rather die herself than let that happen.

"Oh, he's all talk," said Alex matter-of-factly. "You can record him saying that, too, and send it all to the police."

"We have bodyguards," Angelica added. "He won't be doing a damn thing. Do you want to call him right now?"

With her sisters' comfort, and both Alex and Laf awkwardly patting her on the shoulder, any fear that Peggy may have felt when her sisters first spoke disappeared, replaced by an overwhelming sense of determination.

"Now," she said, speaking as loud as she could without yelling. "Before I change my mind."

Angelica handed Peggy her phone, leaving the table to pick it up from the couch.

"Put him on speaker," she ordered. "Laf's gonna film you calling him, so everything he says will be recorded on video."

When she saw that Laf was pointing his phone's camera at her, Peggy opened the contact that said "Jamie," making sure that the camera could see that it was him as she clicked on the button that said "Call."

"What do you want?" came an annoyed voice from the speaker.

"You hurt me," Peggy said, planning to subtly ask questions that would lead to his confession.

"That's because you deserved it, you fucking bitch. When you do what I tell you to, I leave you alone. Now, is there any reason that you're calling me besides whining?"

"People shouldn't hurt the people that they love. For  _any_ reason."

"I don't care. I'll hit you whenever the hell I want."

"Fine. Then I'm breaking up with you." Peggy ten minutes ago would have whispered the words; Peggy now spoke them loudly and clearly, starring at the phone and reveling at the thought of James flying into a rage, far away where he couldn't hurt her.

"What?"

"I said  _I'm breaking up with you._ Our relationship is over, it's  _done_ , goodbye."

"We've been over this," James growled. "Our reputations will be ruined. Nobody will believe you. And if  _that_ isn't enough of a motivator, I can do more.  _Much_ more."

"You won't be doing a damn thing." Peggy said this with a grin on her face, now completely confident in herself as she spoke.

"Don't tell me what I will or won't be doing, you fucking bitch."

"Laf is recording this conversation," she said into the phone. "And if you do anything, we'll send it straight to the police."

Silence, then, except for a subtle hissing on the other end of the line. Then, a voice.

"This isn't over."

"Eat shit," Peggy said bluntly before pressing the button to hang up, at which point Laf pressed the button to end recording.

 _It's over. It's done._ Peggy knew that she should be feeling relief. But instead, all she could feel was a strong sense of impending dread, a sense that continued even as the four people surrounding her clapped and cheered and pulled her into a group hug.

_This isn't over._

 

For another two weeks, it seemed as if Peggy had gotten rid of James once and for all. He had started no rumors, and so there was no need for Laf's recording, though he kept it on his phone just in case. Angelica dated Maria Lewis, Eliza continued her marriage with Alexander, and Peggy stayed happily single, spending more time out of the spotlight and with her friends.

But then one evening, she was walking home from the grocery store, bags in hand, when she saw a familiar, tall figure waiting on the corner of the street. They were both alone; no cars sped down the street, no pedestrians walked along the sidewalk.

_I am the prince now. And he is the dragon._

Looking ahead and trying to keep her breath even, clenching two bags of food in her hands, Peggy walked past James Reynolds. Just when it seemed as if he was going to leave her alone, he grabbed her by the fabric of her yellow shirt, pulling her backwards and onto the ground, where she fell, releasing the bags from her hands in the process.

"I said this wasn't over," James growled. "You don't have your precious Laf now. It's just us. Just like it should be."

He was muscular and tall, a sharp contrast to her small, pudgy figure on the ground, shielding herself with her arms from as many of the hits as she could.

"You're mine," he hissed, kicking her and pushing her and beating her as she bit back the urge to beg him to stop. "You will always be mine."

He relented when he heard a car driving in from far away, giving Peggy a final kick before retreating.

"Remember that."

Peggy wanted terribly to lie down on the ground and stay there, but she knew that she had to be strong. Finally letting out her sobs now that James was gone, she stood up on weak legs, picked up her spilled groceries, and slowly walked back home, where she wrapped herself in a blanket, sat on the couch, and sobbed.

 _I need support,_ she thought after a couple of minutes of laying there. She wasn't feeling any better; she needed someone to talk to, to help her recover from this new round of abuse.

_Angie and Eli are busy. Alex is out at a party, and Theo is with him..._

_Laf._ He was the last person that she thought of, but he was easily her third best friend now, with only her sisters in front of him. Peggy stood up, still wrapped in her blanket, grabbed her phone from the counter, and dialed his number.

"Hello?" she heard after only two rings.

"Can I talk to you? I really need someone to support me right now."

"Of course. What happened?"

"I was walking home from the grocery store, and I...I saw James. He hurt me."

On the other end of the line, it seemed as if Laf had stood up and was moving somewhere.

"What did he do?"

"He knocked me to the ground. Kicked me. And he said...that I would always be his. Laf, I'm not his, am I?"

"Of course not. You don't belong to him. You don't belong to anyone except for yourself."

Peggy was filled with a sudden sense of anger. "No. Of course not."

"I'm coming over to your house," said Laf. "We're going into the city, about half an hour away. You sound like you need a distraction."

"Okay." Peggy had been to NYC, living very nearby from it and going out with her friends quite often. But she had never been there with Laf alone.

About forty-five minutes later, Peggy was wearing a yellow sundress, holding a silver purse which contained her phone, and getting out of the front passenger seat of Laf's car.

"Do you go here often?" she asked him.

"No. I used to, all the time, but then Alexander became very busy, so we stopped. You'll have to show me everything I missed."

"Of course! Where do you want to go?"

"Let's just walk," he said. "That used to be my favorite thing to do in Paris."

"I wish I could go to Paris," Peggy said longingly as the two walked out onto the street together. "Tell me about it. What's it like?"

And so they walked, Laf eagerly telling Peggy about his hometown and how he wanted her to go there with him, and Peggy swimming in the sound of his voice, and of the cars speeding by, and people's chatter, her worries floating up and away, replaced only with Laf by her side. After Laf had finished his story, she began to talk about her own childhood in Albany; it was a much more peaceful and boring story, but Laf seemed to enjoy it, occasionally asking questions whenever there was a pause.

"And then we spent the rest of the day getting Aimee's shoe from...oh!"

"What is it?" Laf stopped in his tracks a second after Peggy did.

"A Zaro's bakery!" Peggy exclaimed, eagerly pointing ahead. "They make the  _best_ black and white cookies. Do you want to go in and get some and also some coffee?"

"Sure," Laf said, grinning, and Peggy excitedly took his hand and ran ahead into the bakery.

"Hello, how may I help you tonight?" the man who was behind the counter asked.

"Two black and white cookies, please," Peggy asked, still excited, still holding Laf's hand. "And two cups of coffee."

"Yes, ma'am."

Peggy led Laf to an open table, where two chairs sat facing each other.

"I'll pay," he said as she set her purse down and unzipped it.

"No, I will. I mean, I was the one who led us here."

"No, no, really, it's fine. I'll pay."

"We can split the bill." Peggy took a couple of bills from her purse and accepted the remaining amount from Laf's hand. She walked up to the counter, placed the money on the table, and took the cookies and one of the cups. Laf walked behind her and took the other one before going back to the table, Peggy behind him. Along the way, Peggy only realized as they had almost finished their meal, she had let go of Laf's hand, and she was surprised by how empty it felt as she picked up the purse as they moved out.

"Thank you!" Peggy called back as she opened the door.

"Merci!" Laf added, and Peggy giggled.

"You're way too French."

" _You_ are way too American."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Where do you want to go now?" Peggy broke the rhythm as they stopped on the street corner.

"What is your favorite place to go in New York?"

"There's a bridge not too far from here. It looks out onto the water, and the view at night is beautiful. You'd love it."

"No view is as beautiful as the one that looks out onto the Seine in Paris. But let's go."

Peggy laughed, muttering once again about "too French," and led the way, afraid at first to take Laf's hand again for fear that he would let it loose again, or refuse it and have it end awkwardly. But a couple of streets later, she could see that Laf's hand was outstretched, and she took it again, surprised at how big it was compared to hers. It was warm, too, and it was only then that she realized that the rest of her body was cold. Wearing a sundress during a New York autumn night was probably not the best decision.

Against her own will, she shivered, and Laf stopped and let go of her hand.

"Are you cold?"

"Yeah, sort of. Stupid sundress."

"Do you want my jacket?" There was genuine concern in Laf's eyes, and the first word that came to Peggy's mind was "adorable."  _James_ never  _offered me his jacket._ But Peggy didn't care about James; he was a city, several cities, away, and Laf was right here, and  _Jesus,_ had she ever noticed how beautiful his eyes were? Because she sure as hell was noticing them right now.

"Yeah. Thanks _so much_." After she said that, Laf took his hoodie off, nearly messing up his hair in the process, and handed it to her. When Peggy put it on, she actually  _did_ mess up her hair, and when she smoothed it down, she realized that the jacket was several sizes too big. But it was comfy, as long as she rolled up the sleeves and pulled on the strings to tighten it, and it had a weirdly comforting smell and feel. Laf took her hand again, this time with both of them reaching for the other at the same time, and they resumed their walk. Neither of them spoke in the soft noise of the city, and it was calming, and Peggy knew the way to the bridge as well as she knew her own room, so they were there soon enough.

The two walked towards the middle, still holding hands, and looked out at the river and the city.

"This used to be one of my favorite things to do," Peggy confessed. "Just stand here and watch the view. Sometimes I did it alone, sometimes one of my sisters or my friends was with me. It always calmed me down."

"I can see why." Their hands were gripping the railing now, Laf's right hand on top of Peggy's left.

The stars were beautiful, white sparks sprinkling the dark night sky, overhanging a completely still river that lay in the middle of a beautiful glowing city, but Peggy found that she could not focus on the picturesque scene, instead turning left so that she could study Lafayette's profile. She had never looked at him for so long, had never even  _thought_ about looking at him for so long, but now, she could not resist the temptation.

He was tall, taller than even James, who had been one of the tallest people that she knew, and his skin was an earthy dark color that brought to mind the silk and velvet dresses that she used to wear to major events. He had a full head of curls that was tied back into a ponytail (or bun, she couldn't tell from her angle) that served to accentuate the curves of his face. Laf was beautiful, and Peggy wasn't realizing it so much as realizing that she had known it all along.

 _Now what?_ Did he think the same way about her? There was no way that he possibly could; only James had ever even come close, in the beginning of their relationship, and that had turned out to all be a lie. She didn't want any thoughts that Laf had about her to be a lie.  _Stay silent,_ she was thinking.  _Stay silent and quiet and let this fade away._

But being silent hadn't worked for her last time. If she had stayed silent about James, she would still be with him, and he would still hit her, and she wouldn't be in New York City with the hand of the most beautiful man in the world on top of hers. And she decided that she didn't want to be silent this time, either.

"Laf?" she asked, her voice coming out quieter than she wanted it to.

Laf turned around to face her. "Hmm?"

Peggy had wanted to ask for permission, just to make the situation slightly less awkward if he didn't want to kiss her. But his face was glowing, and he had offered her his hand, and it was still on hers, and that warm feeling was what drove Peggy to stand on her tiptoes, wrapping her free hand around his neck, and kiss him right on the lips.

Laf was shocked for a millisecond, but only for that long. He instantly leaned into the kiss, bending down to make it easier for the smaller girl, and let his free hand touch her back and run under her hair. His lips felt warm and soft on hers, and Peggy couldn't help but think about how good of a kisser he was, and how eager and ready he seemed, as if he had been waiting for this moment for a long time. 

 _Was_ he? Peggy wanted to say no, but then again, he had always been so kind to her, and he was kissing her now, so the chance was always there.

After a couple of minutes, they let go, and Laf wrapped his arm around Peggy's shoulders, allowing her to lean into his chest.

"That felt nice," she said, not knowing what else to.

" _You_ feel nice." Laf bent down and kissed the top of her head. "Both on the inside and on the outside."

"You  _make_ me feel nice."

"You  _are_ nice."

"You  _look_ nice."

"I want to be with you in Nice, France."

"Oh, will you shut up about France for once?" Peggy was grinning teasingly as she looked up at him.

"I can never shut up about France. It's almost as nice as you."

"You should take me sometime, then."

"I would love to. Does next summer work for you?"

"Of course."

And feeling Laf's body on hers, gently stroking her hair as they continued to be near the view but have eyes only for each other, Peggy decided that she would never stay silent again.

**Author's Note:**

> Great Minds Chapter 2 is coming out tomorrow instead of yesterday, with Chapter 3 still coming out on Monday as planned. Sorry, guys, but I had this idea and I couldn't not write it.  
> So, what comes next?  
> -By the end of October, Great Minds should be finished, and I should have made a bit more progress on the original work that I'm writing.  
> -November is full on NaNoWriMo. I'm going to be writing an original work, and if it turns out well, I'll post it on here. Also, I'll post a Star Wars fic that I wrote for my friend's birthday.  
> -December is when I'll be back with three fundamental things: 1. a huge crossover, 2. the original work that's about halfway done right now, and 3. my entry for the Jamilton Secret Santa that I'm hosting. I may write another Leggy fic, and I'll probably write something else as well (because my brain keeps giving me ideas when I have 1000000000000 WIPs already).


End file.
